Modular Shelters for Displaced Families

Images: Essential Homes Research Project prototype. Credit: Chiara Becattini

Holcim, a leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions has collaborated with the Norman Foster Foundation to create a unique temporary housing model for displaced communities worldwide.

Presented at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, the housing concept was designed by Norman Foster as part of the Essential Homes Research Project to meet the basic human needs of safety, comfort and wellbeing for displaced families, and brought to life using Holcim’s low-carbon, circular and energy-efficient building solutions.

There are 103 million displaced people across the world today and the number continues to grow. While these people are housed in temporary camps, the settlements become places where families can spend decades. However, everyone has the right to a home that is built sustainably. This was the premise of the Essential Homes Research Project.

Inspired by the Shelters Workshop organised by the Norman Foster Foundation in June 2022 and supported by Holcim, the Essential Homes Research Project brought together leading academics and students from around the world to explore the challenges and potential solutions to provide emergency shelters to vulnerable communities.

“How can we ensure everyone, including some of our world’s most vulnerable populations, can have access to decent living conditions?” asks Norman Foster, president, Norman Foster Foundation.

The modular home developed through the partnership is made of low-carbon rollable concrete sheets serving as an external shell to provide physical safety.

Created by Concrete Canvas using Holcim’s custom low-carbon cement mix with 20% less CO2, rollable concrete also uses up to 95% less material than standard applications.

The home is insulated with Holcim’s Airium insulating mineral foam in the roof, and Elevate boards in the floor, ensuring thermal and acoustic comfort as well as energy efficiency. The house sits on a weather-resilient base created using Holcim’s ECOCycle recycled construction demolition materials.

Installing the home doesn’t require any excavation as it lies on the Elevate membrane, which prevents moisture from getting into the building. Pathways made of permeable ECOPact low-carbon concrete connect the home units, allowing nature to grow. Overall, this home has a 70% lower carbon footprint compared to traditional structures.

Being modular in design, the home can accommodate the evolving needs of families of different sizes.

Source: Architecture & Design